Florida GOP lawmaker compares Vance's midterm remarks to Nazi-era Germany: 'He's got to go'

A Republican congress member from Florida described Vice President JD Vance’s description of why the GOP lost so many seats in the midterm elections as "the biggest bunch of gibberish" he has ever read and "smacked of the kind of thing you would read in 1932 Germany."

What they're saying:

"He blamed the Jews for losing the election. I mean, it’s crazy," U.S. Rep. Randy Fine said. "I will tell you, we lost the election for a lot of reasons but it wasn’t because of the only other country in the world who’s willing to stand up to Muslim terror like we are."

Fine told LiveNOW from FOX’s Ryan Schmelz Sunday that Vance is "out in my book." 

The backstory:

On the day after an election that saw Republicans lose both the House and Senate, as well as key governorships, Vance wrote on X that Republicans lost voters who backed the Trump-Vance ticket in 2024 amid frustration over the war, rising costs and U.S. relations with Israel.

Israel was the only other nation to join in the U.S. assault on Iran, an attack that came after months of lobbying by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also fighting for his political survival following recent elections. Going into the war, President Donald Trump told Americans that the U.S. main goal is to prevent Tehran from having a nuclear weapon.

The Trump administration launched the war in Iran following sustained lobbying from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Trump endorsed in the Israeli election. Before the midterms, President Donald Trump characterized Americans’ affordability concerns as a Democratic "hoax."

Dig deeper:

"He blamed the Jews for losing the election. I mean, it’s crazy," Fine argued. "I will tell you, we lost the election for a lot of reasons but it wasn’t because of the only other country in the world who’s willing to stand up to Muslim terror like we are."

Fine said he thinks there are "many great candidates out there" for the 2028 GOP presidential nomination, suggesting Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz among them. But he reiterated that he would not support Vance in a presidential primary. 

"Hard stop. Absolute. He’s got to go," Fine said. 

Fine said he kept his seat in the midterms, actually managing to increase his margin of victory over his previous election, adding that he "may be the only Republican in America" to do so. 

"And I can tell you why that happened: Because my constituents realized I cared about them, I cared about their problems and I cared about what was happening to the country," he said.

He also laid blame for the election losses on the U.S. Senate, saying that their inaction demoralized voters, and to Republicans who communicated their platform well but failed to communicate why every Democratic policy will make American lives "worse." 

What's next:

No major Republican candidate has formally announced a 2028 presidential run, although Vance has said he would decide if he would run for the White House after the midterm election. 

Besides Vance, Rubio and Cruz, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is among several frequently tracked as prospective candidates. 

But candidates typically make such announcements in the off-year before a national election after taking time to assess the post-midterm political environment and their ability to raise funds and support. 

LiveNOW from FOX has reached out to Vance's office for a comment on Fine's remarks.

 

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